Angry Gaming 01.07.08: E Pluribus Unum

Posted by Damian Sarcuni on 01.07.2008

Why a universal game console is no longer a science fiction dream, and just who will be responsible for making it a reality.

Welcome to Angry Gaming, the Dick Clark that makes the gaming industry's Ryan Seacrest SUFFER. I am your hate master, Damian Sarcuni, and my new year's resolution is to solve more of my life's problems with sentences ending in "or die". Should oooold acquaintance beee forgot, somethiiing, somethiing somethiiiiiiiiiiing…


E Pluribus Unum

Happy 2008 to all the 411mania writers, readers, and playa haters. I hope that so far you have all found the beginning of this brand new 365 day period to your liking, and that you find all your hopes and dreams before the 2009 ball drops.

Personally, I'm disappointed in this year already. Its 2008…do any of you realize just how many sci-fi and action flicks were set during the very time period we are living in? So many authors and directors throughout the past century have graced us with their bold, shining visions of futuristic societies that would replace the hardships they experienced during their own time. Yet here we are, the future is now, and so little has changed. Where are the flying cars? The intergalactic railways? Why do we still have to deal with daily annoyances like weather (excluding those of you from San Diego)?

The truth is that mankind is destined to be disappointed at the coming of each year because we dream up our possibilities faster than we can make them a reality. Our problems always seem to be a lot more stubborn in real life than they are in the movies. Try as we might, things like war, famine, and genital herpes just will not be wiped from the face of the Earth anytime soon. And so each year we take heart in the useless technological advances that we do have, such as HD photo frames, satellite capable car stereos, and Guitar Hero.

But gamers have one up on the rest of society this year, because at last we can finally start looking forward to the realization of a dream we didn't even know we had…a universal video game console! (Cue the choir of angels now.)

That's right folks, you may not have heard it here first, but in a few more years, the brand name consoles of Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony will be nothing but a faded memory. Oh sure, those Ritchie Rich game companies that ignore our job applications year after year will still be around, but they'll be developing their games for universal hardware. In other words, all of your games will be playable on one console, regardless of who made it or who made the game.

Impossible, you say? That's what they said about Viagra.

A universal video game console (UVGC) will become reality within the next decade and I intend to prove it. Today we are going to look at how other technologies developed into universal media forms, and cap it off with my personal prediction on just who is going to be responsible for bringing the universal game console to life. Don't worry, I promise by the end, it'll all just "feel" right.


VCR's – The Great Granddaddy of the UVGC



Some of you reading this might actually be too young to know what a VCR actually is, and that frightens me. Video Cassette Recorders or VCRs were the first piece of equipment that allowed home users to watch movies and other recorded media right on their own televisions. In other words, they were a precursor to the DVD players of today. But like all good pieces of technological equipment, the VCR did not reach the height of its popularity without a certain amount of adversity, both from rival media formats and from its own internal battles.

Originally developed in the 1950's, VCR's were originally very costly pieces of equipment that weren't designed for home usage. Often produced with price tags of thousands of dollars per unit, the first VCR's were specifically designed to work with the specific media of their respective developers. So Sony VCR's only played Sony's U-Matic videos, whereas Avco VCR's only supported "Cartrivision" cassette tapes. In today's world, where Sony only supports Blu-Ray discs and other game companies push toward HD-DVD formats, all of this should sound eerily familiar.



VCR's hit mainstream popularity in the 1970's, and it wasn't long before all sorts of electronics companies were producing them. However, VCR's faced another threat from abroad…the dreaded Betamax video! Around 1975, VCR's became split between two media formats: VHS and Betamax, and a capitalist competition ignited over which was the better media. In the end, VHS won the prize due to the length of its videos, and was viewed as a better value.

The point of this is that today, we cannot let ourselves be fooled simply because our PS3 games are printed differently than our Nintendo Wii games. VHS was developed by RCA, whereas Betamax was supported primarily by Sony. Yet how many VHS recorders has Sony developed and sold since then? The answer is too many to count, and the moral here is that the public selects the winners of the media wars, and it is up to the hardware companies to keep up with the demand.


3DO – We've Been Here Before



Some of you reading this may be too mainstream to know what a 3DO is, and this frightens me too. During the 32/64-bit generation of video games, several game consoles were released that didn't quite make the cut and vanished from the public eye. Before there were Playstations and N64's, there was the 3DO, a simple game machine boasting a few concepts ahead of its time. I've covered what made the 3DO so great in past articles, but how it applies to this topic is something different altogether.
Basically, the developers who originally came up with the 3DO decided NOT to produce their own hardware themselves. Instead, they sold the rights and plans for the system to three different electronics companies who marketed the system themselves. These companies were Panasonic, Goldstar, and Matsushita. So unlike today where all Xbox's are clearly designed and produced by Microsoft, a 3DO could be purchased under different brand names. Yet each system still played the same games.



It's not like the systems weren't different either, because they were. Panasonic's R.E.A.L. 3DO system was a top-loading CD drive that used thin controllers similar to that of a Sony Playstation. Goldstar's on the other hand, was a tray loading CD drive that boasted bigger gamepads and (if memory serves) a larger hard drive and separate system warranty. It needed it…for some reason Goldstar's 3DO system was far more unstable than its Panasonic counterpart.

In the end all the 3DO systems tanked, but not without teaching us all some valuable lessons. Primarily, we learned that different electronics companies could indeed market the same video game hardware and play the same games. Just as we had a Panasonic 3DO and a Goldstar 3DO in the past, who's to say we can't have a Nintendo Xbox in the future? It has happened before, after all.


Microsoft – The Empire Strikes Back



Here is why I think Microsoft is going to be responsible for the invention of a universal video game console.

Right now, all of the big three console developers are working with hardware that is far and away different from each other. Microsoft's Xbox 360 games are primarily dealing with online play, whereas Nintendo's Wii is based around user interaction in an offline format. Meanwhile, Sony's PS3 games are powerhouses that put graphics and sound first, and interactivity a distant second.

We can't put all three of these things together. There is no way we're going to be able to swing our Wiimotes around through high end graphical interfaces to log on to Xbox Live. All three systems are based around very separate gimmicks that can't be combined. Yet Microsoft has achieved the most mainstream acceptance of all three companies. This is partially due to Microsoft's own game library, partially due to the rarity of the Wii console, and partially due to the PS3's hefty price tags.



But in the midst of all this, Microsoft is doing something else that's very interesting: they are attempting to conquer a second game platform that people haven't realized yet: the personal computer. Microsoft isn't just concerned with putting all of their games online; they are also trying to bridge the gap between PC gamers and console gamers as well. Already, more PC games are starting to require Microsoft operating systems to run, and already the Xbox 360 can be linked with Windows PC's for a number of features.

PC's are ALREADY a universal video game format! By controlling the PC gaming world, Microsoft will gain control over other assets that Sony and Nintendo will need in the future of their games. As gaming technology and PC come closer together, it's only a matter of time before gamers will want to link their Nintendo systems and Sony systems up to their PC's as well, and Microsoft is not stupid enough to ignore this. They will back the release of a universal video game console that will play Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo games…and it'll all be linked through our Windows Vista based computers.

Is that Bill Gates' evil laughter I hear?


The Anger

I can't say exactly when my theory for the future of game consoles will come to pass, but I do truly believe it will happen. Sony and Nintendo fans need not fret either as Microsoft will likely have to shell out quite a number of checks in royalties for the Nintendo and Sony hardware their universal systems will require. Plus, this theory only begins with Microsoft, it doesn't end with it. How long before Phillips decides to create a UVGC of their own? How long before Panasonic gets back in the act? Like our old friend the VCR, competition between more electronics companies will lead to more features for our games and lower prices on all game media. Laugh with me my fellow gamers, the future is bright indeed. Until next time, embrace the hatred.